University of Oregon
6-4
Fresno State
8-3
Oregon's Rally Falls Short vs. Fresno State
12/21/14 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon women's basketball team rallied back from a 15-point deficit to tie it in the second half, but couldn't finish off the comeback in a 68-59 loss to Fresno State on Sunday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Ducks and dropped them to 6-4 on the season. Fresno State improved to 8-3.
Pac-12 Record Double-Double Streak: Jillian Alleyne posted her 19th straight double-double (dating back to last season) with 26 points and 16 rebounds against Fresno State. Alleyne's 19 consecutive double-doubles broke her own Pac-12 record of 18 she shared with Cheryl Miller. Alleyne had 18 straight during the 2013-14 season.
The streak is tied for the third longest in NCAA women's basketball history. Former Oklahoma great Courtney Paris (2005-09) holds the record with a ridiculous 112 straight double-doubles, followed by Artemis Spanou's 33 straight for Robert Morris (2012-13). With 19, Alleyne is tied with Old Dominion's Anne Donovan (1982).
How It Happened: The story early was three-point shooting. Oregon was just 2-of-4 from long range while Fresno State shot 7-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Bulldogs' seventh three-pointer of the game gave them an 11-point lead, 38-27, with 2:51 left before halftime. Fresno State led by as much as 15 in the first half but the Ducks cut it to 10 at halftime, 44-34. Alleyne had 15 points and six rebounds at the break. Oregon shot 53.8 percent from the floor and 29 percent from three, but 10 first-half turnovers led to 16 points for Fresno State.
In the second half, the Ducks used a 6-0 run to cut the Bulldogs' 10-point lead to a four-point advantage, 46-42, with 14:38 left in the game.
Oregon tied up the game, 55-55, on a jumper by Katelyn Loper with 8:19 to play. Fresno State answered, however, and used a 13-2 run to take a 68-57 lead and put the game away with 2:41 left.
Oregon allowed just one second half three-pointer to the Bulldogs, but the Ducks surrendered 22 points on 14 turnovers in the game. On the other side, Oregon totaled just three points off 14 Fresno State turnovers.
Loera in the Lineup: Jordan Loera started for the Ducks against Fresno State, her first start of the season. The Moses Lake, Wash., native sat out all of the 2013-14 season after suffering a preseason knee injury. Her first game back this year was against Central Michigan in Las Vegas. Sunday's start was her first since a Pac-12 Tournament loss to Washington on March 7, 2013. Loera started all 31 games that season as a sophomore after starting 10 games in her freshman campaign.
Up Next: The Ducks return to Matthew Knight Arena on Dec. 29 for a game against Seattle U. The contest is the Ducks' final non-conference game of the year. Oregon opens Pac-12 play on Jan. 3 at USC.
